Archive for February, 2012

Rylan Steele has created a series of photographs that cause viewers to take a closer look at ordinary workspaces–the clutter and the cleanliness of offices, warehouses and other spaces we inhabit every day but rarely think about.

Amanda Brazier‘s paintings are vivid, geometric, often abstract works of art. However, like Steele’s photos, they examine the way humans interact with and modify their environment. Steele, a professor at Columbus State University, and Brazier, a Chattanooga artist, are the featured artists at the AVA Gallery’s Re: Structure exhibit, which opens March 2nd and runs through April 28th. An opening reception will take place March 2nd at AVA.

See this 2011, Sundance film selection, The Last Mountain by Bill Haney. Here’s more on the film presented by Awake and Engage(d) documentary series:

Thursday, March 1st, we are proud to present a special session of Awake and Engage(d) examining Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining. It may be no surprise that AwAE has wanted to feature Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining for some time now. It is an important and complex environmental issue. We are pleased to bring a bold film on the subject to our campus. The film is “The Last Mountain,” and it argues that the battle for a single mountain in an Appalachian valley affects most Americans while exhibiting just how Big “Big Coal” is. AwAE is pleased to welcome special guest host Sara Coffman, UTC Lecturer in English and Appalachian activist, who has been in contact with the group Appalachian Voices. Information about Mountaintop Removal can be found on their websites: www.appalachianvoices.org and www.ilovemountains.org. Information follows.

Note: as the series is growing, seating is often limited at our sessions. Admission is free (thanks to our generous sponsors). Hope to see you there; please email me with any questions.

Tucked away off of Main Street is a warehouse that has been converted to a coffee house and music venue with an intimate setting and multi-track recording. In fact the facility was originally designed to double as a music recording space for the Mission Chattanooga. Now it is home to a coffee house and cafe with a different type of music performance each day of the week. The music schedule includes:

Prehensile Productions has undertaken a trans-media campaign to bring awareness to the plight of the Waoroni hunter-gatherer culture in the rain forests of Equador. Co-creators Jennifer Berglund and Keith Heyward met in college and studied Tropical Ecology in Equador through a student internship. They were impressed by the amazing bio-diversity in this region and saw the connection between its preservation and its inhabitants.

Retired teacher, storyteller and poet Finn Bille has published a collection of poems about a fire that destroyed his historic home in 2003. Fire Poems is on sale at Winder Binder Gallery and Bookstore. $2 from each book sale will be donated to the Red Cross to help other fire victims.

GRAB A HAT AND

READ WITH THE CAT

As part of the Read Across America celebration of children and literacy, the United Way of Greater Chattanooga is hosting events every day beginning Tuesday, February 28th through Saturday March 3rd. Read Across Chattanooga is a celebration of Dr. Seuss’ birthday and a chance to promote the importance of reading to children. There will be a chance to sign up for free books and get a learning check up for your child. Each weekday evening from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm at the Center Stage at Hamilton Place Mall you will find the Cat in the Hat along with a celebrity reader reading Dr. Seuss books to children. There will also be activities hosted by a different organization each evening.

A group of African American pilots, known as the Tuskegee Airmen, fought during World War II. They also helped in the fight for civil rights for all African Americans. That’s the message of the documentary film, “Silver Wings and Civil Rights: The Fight to Fly” . It will be showing on Tuesday, February 28th at Memorial Auditorium. Mary Helen Miller sat down with Kris Jones, the production designer for the film.

Chattanooga is well on its way to becoming the first city in America with its own unique typeface. Chatype is being developed through the grass-roots efforts of DJ Trischler and Jonathan Mansfield combined with the design creativity of Robbie de Villiers and Jeremy Dooley. Chatype is currently in beta and when it is complete it will be a gift to the people of Chattanooga. The hope is that the typeface will be used to help brand and promote the city as well as celebrate the rich history and exciting future.

Everyone involved with Chatype has volunteered their talents to the project. You can show your support for Chattanooga’s typeface through Kickstarter.

Combining avant-garde music, modern dance and multimedia, Rebecca Furiosa is the newest production from writer/composer Tim Hinck. It will be staged at Barking Legs Theater Feb. 25th-28th. It’s being presented by The Shaking Ray Levi Society, the Theatre for the New South and the New Dischord Ensemble.

Members of the Chattanooga Symphony, UTC faculty, Chattanooga Dance Projects, Theater for the New South’s director Blake Harris, and filmmaker Megan Hollenbeck join forces to bring Tim Hinck’s work to life on stage. This riveting production blends a live quintet of woodwinds, strings, and electric guitar, with dancers and multimedia projections. Employing Brechtian theater, performance art, and experimental music, Rebecca Furiosa explores the power of religion in the cultural landscape of the United States. The ferocity of our religious fervor finds personification in the character Rebecca. This snapshot of her coming-of-age mirrors, in many ways, the coming-of-age of the American nation. The nightly performances of this 50-minute production will be followed by a panel Q&A with the composer, members of the production team, and performers.

Open Chattanooga is an advocacy group dedicated to making Chattanooga’s public data accessible from the internet. According to the group’s Facebook page, “Open Chattanooga uses technology as a platform to encourage government transparency, accountability, and accessibility.” Tomorrow, Open Chattanooga will have their first Hack-a-Thon. Don’t be alarmed by the name. The Hack-a-Thon is entirely legal. The purpose of the event is to address some of Chattanooga’s problems with public transportation. Garrett Crowe has more on the story.